cars on a cable
by thecivilunrest
Summary: All she'd wanted was to hear his heart against hers, to hear them beat perfectly in time. For Wally/Artemis Week.


**Fandom: **Young Justice

**Story Title: **"Cars on a Cable"

**Summary: **All she'd wanted was to hear his heart against hers, to hear them beat perfectly in time. For Wally/Artemis Week.

**Character/Relationship(s): **Wally West/Artemis Crock

**Rating: **K+

**Warnings: **None.

**Story Word Count: **1000+

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything.

**Notes: **This is so bad but I needed to finish this fic and I literally had an hour and a half to do it. Oops. Reviews are appreciated, by the way!

_Cars on a Cable_

There aren't very many people that Artemis would call at three in the morning. She has lots of friends, and now thanks to the team she has plenty of people who she would trust with her life. But she still can't just call them in the middle of the night after a nightmare.

Artemis has plenty of nightmares. They don't come every night, but when they do they are strung together, one right after another right after another. Sometimes they're violent and bloody, leaving her gasping for air and her skin covered in a slight layer or perspiration.

But sometimes, and these are the worst, the dreams are long. They linger, starting off the way a normal dream would, but eventually the horror slithers in and chokes her. It's different each time, of course, but each one ends with tears in her eyes and a sick, rhythmic thudding in her ears.

She just had one tonight, and her bed is wet from sweat. Her pillows are damp as well, and she hates herself so much as she dry heaves. Last week's mission had been particularly bad, but she had thought that she was going to be okay.

Artemis hadn't had any nightmares about it, so she had thought that she wouldn't. Until tonight. Tonight the worst part of the mission kept replaying, over and over again. Each time was worse until in the end there was nothing at all.

After the Exercise, a vague expanse of darkness had become the thing that haunted her. Oblivion was the worst of all, because it was so easy to get lost in a sea of black.

That was why she had to call someone. And by someone, she meant Wally. Her fingers hit the numbers of their own accord. She'd had the number memorized for so long that calling was second nature now.

His voicemail came the first time, but she called him again, desperate. She didn't like feeling like this, so lost and out of place as she tried to get her breathing back to normal, but she couldn't help it. This time, she got through.

"Hello?" Wally's voice was groggy with sleep, but it was still comforting. Artemis tried moving her mouth, but her voice didn't work, at least not until Wally's second, "Hello?"

"Hi," she finally managed, her voice small. "It's me."

"Artemis?" he sounded more awake this time, and she tightened her grip around her phone, the plastic digging into her fingers.

"The one and only." She tried to smile, but she couldn't, not with tears still on her face. She took a steadying breath, one that actually helped this time. "Can you, please-?" but she couldn't finish. She hated asking him for things like this, especially on their weeks off. It was just so _stupid_.

"Of course." He definitely sounded awake now. "I'll be there as soon as I can." There was a click, and then the phone went dead.

Artemis took another deep breath before she could function like a normal person. With practiced hands she took the wet sheets off her bed and went to the linen closet for some other ones. She threw the damp ones in the corner of the room with the rest of her dirty laundry, and straightened her collection of arrows until her phone vibrated, telling her she had one new text message.

This was their signal. They had done this before, too many times in her opinion, but it was nice to have a system. Throwing a look to the dark corner of Paula's room, Artemis opened her front door. She took his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together, and the solid warmth of him immediately made it easier to breathe.

They didn't speak until they fell into her bed, and then only in whispers. Her mom had ninja training just like she did, after all.

"You're cold." She frowned as she touched his face, which matched the weather outside. He grabbed her hand and kept it there as he smiled at her. Artemis knew she was lucky. So, so lucky that she had a boyfriend that would come see her anytime that she asked him too.

"Thirty degree weather will do that to you."

They were quiet, for a moment, before he finally asked her, "What was it this time?"

She sighed as she tangled their legs together. She wished she could get lost in him, that the two of them could become one. Maybe then she would realize that she was never going to disappear. She'd always have him and he'd always have her and there would always bee _something_.

"Last week. You getting hurt. And then...nothing." She shut her eyes just thinking about it.

Wally grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. "Hey, I'm fine." He kissed her mouth, slow and sure. His lips were cold and chapped, but she didn't mind. Artemis brought her arms around his neck and tangled her fingers in his hair. He moaned, causing a vibration against her mouth, and she groaned in return.

He pulled back, and kissed her forehead. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but not right now. I'm too tired and I've got a test tomorrow."

She tried not to be disappointed. All she'd wanted was to hear his heart against hers, to hear them beat perfectly in time, but she understood where he was coming from. She was beyond lucky that he was here at all.

"I love you," Artemis told him, and he smiled the way he always did when she told him in purpose. He'd told her once that he couldn't believe someone like _her _could love him, which was ridiculous. It was always the other way around.

"Love you too, babe." His words became slurred as his eyes drooped, and she knew that he was going to pass out on her. Once he attempted to sleep, he was out like a light. His breathing slowed until finally his grip on her loosened.

Artemis listened to his breathing, felt his heart beat its steady rhythm, and knew that in a couple of hours she'd have to wake him up and he'd have to make it home before anyone caught him. She'd have to straighten everything back up so that her mother didn't notice, and then she would text Wally to make sure that everything was okay. Life would go on, moving around them. Nightmares would become reality, schoolwork would pile up, missions would continue on.

But in that moment, in the stillness of the early morning, they were at peace.


End file.
